


Starless Night, A

by bakedgoldfish



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-15
Updated: 2004-01-15
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakedgoldfish/pseuds/bakedgoldfish
Summary: It had been a long time since he'd last seen a sky full of stars.





	Starless Night, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**A Starless Night**

**by:** [Baked Goldfish](mailto:romana_1@h)

**Category:** Leo, Jed  
**Rating:** CHILD  
**Spoilers:** One reference to War Crimes  
**Summary:** It had been a long time since he'd last seen a sky full of stars.  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine, never will be, don't sue me. 

Archive: Sure to wherever.  
**Author's Notes:** Just to qualify, I was born and raised just outside Washington, DC. I also, generally, like Amy. However. 

It was a mild night, just cool enough to put tremors into the tips of his fingers, and the moon was out over his left shoulder. Somewhere in the city, a bus heaved to a stop, and he could hear its breaks squealing in protest. 

The sky was mottled with bruised clouds; no stars were evident, but they rarely were, in this city. It had been a long time since he'd last seen a sky full of stars. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he blew hot air onto his palms and absently gazed around. He saw nothing but dying grass and a black iron fence before the landscape melted into empty darkness. The street far in front of him was quiet, and the only thing proving to him that he was still in the city was the distant sounds of traffic and night life. 

He sat down, and the seat on the portico was cold against his legs; again, he blew into his cupped hands, as if that would warm him. It wasn't really that cold of a night, not for late November, but it felt colder. The night breathed a cool darkness around him, cocooning him. He blinked his eyes against the quiet breeze, his lashes sticking together from the moisture in the air; shoulders hunched against the chill, he could feel his ears starting to burn around the edges. 

He heard a door open, and he turned to his right. "It's cold out here," he complained. 

"Yeah, but I'm the President," Bartlet replied. He wasn't even wearing a suit jacket. "You gotta do what I tell you." 

"Don't I always?" Leo huffed, blowing into his hands again. 

Leaning against a column, Bartlet muttered, "Not really." He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter and looked up at the same starless sky Leo was looking at. "Sky's pretty hazy tonight, isn't it?" 

"Always is," Leo said, rubbing his arms. "What'd you need to talk about, sir?" 

He shrugged, taking a long drag on the cigarette. The smoke mixed with the condensation from his breath when he exhaled. "Nothing, really. I don't know." 

Leo nodded, and stared out into the void. "Bruno's got some new numbers," he said. 

"Oh yeah?" Jed asked absently. 

"Yeah," Leo answered mutedly. "Midwest, right after Hoynes went to Texas. We're up a little." 

"Good, good," Bartlet said, taking another slow drag. "Joey Lucas did the polling, right?" 

"Right," Leo said. "Did a good job." 

"She always does, doesn't she?" Bartlet asked. 

"Yeah." 

They remained silent for a while, until the President finished his cigarette. "Anything else?" he asked at length. 

"No, not really," Leo said. The cold in the tips of his fingers had moved up to his knuckles, and he rubbed his hands together. 

"Say, how's Mallory doing these days?" Bartlet asked suddenly, pulling out a second cigarette. 

"She's fine, she's doing okay," Leo replied. "Finally dumped that hockey player." 

"Who, Andreychuck? Was that his name?" 

"Yeah, something like that," he grumbled. "The hockey puck was probably smarter than he was." 

"So she and Sam-" 

"Nah." He tucked his hands under his arms and glanced up. "It's pretty late, isn't it?" 

Tapping the ashes off the tip of his cigarette, Bartlet glanced at his watch. "Eleven past eleven. Make a wish, Leo." 

"Huh?" 

Bartlet regarded him curiously. "You never did that when you were a kid?" 

He shook his head, confused. "Do what?" 

"Make a wish at eleven eleven." 

Leo pulled one hand out and glanced at his watch quickly before putting his hand back under his arm. "Mine says eleven thirteen, anyway." 

"Oh." Bartlet watched, idly, as the cigarette smoldered down. "I heard about Jenny, by the way." 

"Yeah," Leo said tightly. "He seems like a nice guy." 

"He seems like a nice guy," Bartlet repeated. "When's the wedding?" 

"They haven't set a date yet, I don't think," Leo replied, feeling the cold begin to seep into his toes. "Mallory would know." 

"It all seems pretty quick," Bartlet muttered before dropping the cigarette butt on the ground and stomping it out. "We're up in the midwest?" 

"Yeah, three points. Not much, but it's a start." He glanced at Bartlet and asked, "Don't you ever get cold?" 

"This isn't cold," he replied. "This is crisp." Nevertheless, he shoved his hands as deep as they could go in his pockets, and stared out into the darkness. Every few seconds, he glanced at Leo, wondering where his mind was. After a few of those glances, he lost his patience. "Leo- " 

"You remember when I told you, you should stop acting like a guy who wants to be re-elected?" he asked abruptly. "Let Bartlet be Bartlet, and all that?" 

Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah." 

"What hap-" He cut himself short, and shook his head. "Nevermind." 

Bartlet regarded him solemnly for a few moments, waiting for him to speak again. When that didn't happen, he said, "I still wanna raise whole houses off the ground, you know." 

"Yeah." 

"Gotta get re-elected to do that." 

"Yeah." 

He took a few steps to stand beside Leo, and put his hand on Leo's shoulder; the cloth of his coat was freezing. "You're doing a good thing, you know." 

He got no reply, and after a few seconds, he took his hand away and walked back into the office. The sound of the door shutting blended in with the sounds of the city at night, random and obscured. Cold and slightly shivering, Leo raised his eyes to the clouds above him once more; the only light in the fractured heavens was that of the half-shadowed moon. 

It had been a long time since he'd last seen a sky full of stars. 

-end-  



End file.
